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Bachmann/EFE 1938 tubestock


d00m
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So they have finally announced a 4 car Northern line motorised set! Internal lighting,two motors each powering the two bogies in the DM's, nem pockets on DM's decoder sockets in DM's and space for a sugarcube speaker. Not bad for £349.99, considering the price of static sets these days. Let's hope they sell cars separately as well.

Edited by d00m
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This is definitely interesting - it is good to see more London Underground availability.

 

One odd thing that I notice is that, despite having working interior lights, the end lights seem to be painted on and non-working. I imagine that users can, with effort, add their own, however.

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This announcement has excited many modellers of LU/LT like myself who have been eager to see the EFE Static models reproduced into a ready-to-run variant. A step in the right direction!
 

This is the first off the shelf model of a r-t-r "Deep Level Tube" Train produced in a very long time. Nothing like it has ever been done since the production of the crude tin plate Ever-Ready Battery Powered London Underground Set over 60 years ago! The only possible exemption was the rather specialist Metromodels 1992/95/96TS which were produced in very small numbers and rather hard to acquire these days.

 

Looking at the specs of this model, this is a definite improvement to what we had before. Whilst the exterior body shell remains relatively unchanged in the pictures, the chassis has been massively improved! It's plastic so it weighs less and has with it a NEM Socket for easy coupling.
There is a coreless motor and a low-floor drive mechanism powering both bogies in the Driving Motor Cars "A and D Ends" and pick ups on all four carriage bogies will supply power to the interior lights.

 

The sample pictures show very little changes to the exterior detailing. The grab rails on the corners are formed as part of the body shell moulding rather than added on separately and both the head and tail lights appear to be painted on. Though as these are sample pictures, these may be details that will be added to the production models.

 

It should be pointed out that the conversion of the static EFE models had always produced mixed results. The conversion method which required the use of Tenshodo Motor Bogies and heavy modifications to the chassis was not very straightforward at all. My personal experience with the Tenshodo spuds was that they were under-powered, noisy and prone to overheating. The chassis was white metal so very heavy and cutting a hole wasn't straightforward unless you had an angle grinder and a cutting disk! Additionally, you had to insulate the chassis if you had to wire in lights or a DCC Decoder and you had to swap out the bogies with ones with free rolling pin-point axles for smoother running.

 

I have never bought any more static EFE Models after buying the LUL Liveried 59TS Model and attempted to motorise it. It was a headache to do right and didn't work very well! I'm very glad that this model has been produced. If this first batch is successful and something tells me it will, EFE may do a re-run and produce the same model in a later livery or possibly even a 3-car variant to make the complete 7-car formation or even a 2-car variant of the Isle Of Wight Units.

Edited by Patrick Blake
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13 minutes ago, Patrick Blake said:

Though as these are sample pictures, these may be details that will be added to the production models

 

I believe these are production models. They should be heading for the shops very soon, so don't expect any changes.

 

6 hours ago, jamespetts said:

One odd thing that I notice is that, despite having working interior lights, the end lights seem to be painted on and non-working. I imagine that users can, with effort, add their own, however.

 

Quite a bit of work - drilling through the diecast body for a start. Not out of the question, but harder than a plastic model. Looking at the photos, worth the effort though.

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All (12x7 car sets) of my 1938 stock cars have diecast chassis but the bodies are plastic. It does take a bit of time to fit tenshodo motors, but the motorised cars need weighting. The sets won't run well unless you change all the other bogies and wheels to pinpoint.

Plastic bodies are easy to drill for headcodes. Chassis a bit more difficult to drill for tail lights. 

 

The pics of the new models seem to have a painted centre 'light' in the headcode but the other four look clear to me.

 

It is easy to print off different destination blinds and ts numbers. You can get decals to renumber individual cars.

 

I'm ordering a set to compare!

 

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I’ve ordered my set but I noticed that on the DM’s, they just put NEM pockets and not put the tightlock coupler there.  I hope they’ll put a pair in so you can either install the tightlock or a coupling bar so you can couple two sets together.

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22 hours ago, Phil Parker said:

Quite a bit of work - drilling through the diecast body for a start. Not out of the question, but harder than a plastic model. Looking at the photos, worth the effort though.

 

Aren't the EFE bodies plastic though? They sure feel like they are.

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32 minutes ago, Jeff Smith said:

I notice that Radley Models is producing a Standard Stock trailer kit that would be appropriate to run with the 1938 stock.

A 1960 Cravens DM would be nice. They ran with 1938 stock trailers and the preserved units still do.

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Its a shame that Bachmann, unlike Hattons ect with the 66s, wont send out review samples to people such as me who enjoy doing youtube stuff.

My london underground layout is gaining a decent following on there so could have been a good opportunity.


also with the lights, i cant see why they would have made the front lighting clear if not having them lit up.

the existing EFE models have painted on lights, so surely this change points to them having working directional lighting?

 

if not, awfully stupid of Bachmann not to bother especially for the price tag.

 

Edited by Erixtar1992
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20 hours ago, Jeff Smith said:

Has anyone determined whether they are in tube red or bus red?  It looks like tube red but hard to say in photos on screens.

As they have 'London Transport' and not the White roundel/bullseye they should be in tube red.

Still not sure if the efe models are the correct colour but I plan eventually to get around to weathering mine - that'll cover a multitude!

 

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On 06/08/2020 at 22:56, Jeff Smith said:

I notice that Radley Models is producing a Standard Stock trailer kit that would be appropriate to run with the 1938 stock.

Is that the "58 trailers" or some such I vaguely remember? 

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24 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Is that the "58 trailers" or some such I vaguely remember? 

Yes, these were the 58 Birmingham RCW 1927 "standard" stock trailers which were converted by Acton Works to form the "fourth" car in a four-car (otherwise 1938 stock) unit. I only remember them on the Bakerloo Line, which I think started with 6-car (3+3) 1938 stock trains because many of the original central London Bakerloo Line stations had been constructed too short to safely take seven car trains, even with use of the "end-doors" cut-out button. I think that these stations had all been lengthened by the time that the "real" war started in 1940 enabling  seven car trains to be operated. It is possible that some of the "58" trailer units worked on the Northern but I certainly don't remember seeing them there and it would obviously have made sense from a maintenance point of view to have them concentrated on one line.

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Radley Models do 1960 Cravens Stock although it is not on the site he must have some left.

 

The new 1927 trailer from Radley Models I redesigned and amended the bogies specifically to fit the same ride height as the EFE 1938 stock so it could be used as a 58 trailer. 
 

The 58 trailers all began life on the a northern but were moved to the Bakerloo as intended by the early 1940s. 
 

Attached are the pre-production photos which show the jumper boxes inside the saloon. These were removed for the 58 trailers but on the normal 1926/27 standard stock trailer these are added at the car end depending on whether the car is A or D end. 

62E526A9-88CC-4BA8-BB1D-7620C55FB470.jpeg

6C391827-2B8F-4CAA-88E4-290AFB5CDDD3.jpeg

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On 16/08/2020 at 08:09, Lord of Narnia said:

The new 1927 trailer from Radley Models I redesigned and amended the bogies specifically to fit the same ride height as the EFE 1938 stock so it could be used as a 58 trailer. 
 

The 58 trailers all began life on the a northern but were moved to the Bakerloo as intended by the early 1940s. 
 

 

I ordered one on Sunday and its arrived today, very nice, and crisply moulded, so thank you for your excellent work and advising us of availability. With the new Bachmann models I'm hoping it will be possible to exchange bodies with those from the original EFEs as I've no requirement for motorised Northern Line trains, and it would be an easy way to get my Piccadilly Line unit running. 

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On 09/08/2020 at 11:20, d00m said:

As they have 'London Transport' and not the White roundel/bullseye they should be in tube red.

Still not sure if the efe models are the correct colour but I plan eventually to get around to weathering mine - that'll cover a multitude!

 

The EFE models are all in Tube red, the bus red was brighter. Bus red with LT roundels would be my ideal livery, running alongside class 501s....

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30 minutes ago, andyman7 said:

The EFE models are all in Tube red, the bus red was brighter. Bus red with LT roundels would be my ideal livery, running alongside class 501s....

The 1938 Tube Stock book by Piers Connor has a picture of two cabs side by side in tube red and bus red.  There's only a few shades difference.

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1 hour ago, Broadway Clive said:

Not moulded, just sheets.

I have three of the white metal standard stock Radley (Harrow Model Shop) kits.  Effective glazing is hard to make as each window has to be cut to fit to get flush glazing.  It looks a though the resin body is just as thick.  However I made a Radley resin Dreadnought coach and the window moulding was very thin and looks fine with just sheet glazing behind!

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On 04/08/2020 at 21:46, jamespetts said:

This is definitely interesting - it is good to see more London Underground availability.

 

One odd thing that I notice is that, despite having working interior lights, the end lights seem to be painted on and non-working. I imagine that users can, with effort, add their own, however.


Something that occurs to me is that seeing as the bodies are plastic, it may be easy to drill out the marker lghts that you want to light up and allow the interior lighting to show through. A small amount of Krystal Klear, Glue n Glaze, or even PVA which dries clear could be used to create a lens in the hole. 

Until the models actually come out, I can't guarantee this would work. Looking at existing EFE models, the driver's cab partition may prevent the light reaching the marker lights, but a little fibre optic could be an answer.

We'll have to wait and see how feasible this is. Shouldn't be too long, now. :)

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